Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life with Pastor Dave Cover

This episode is a continuation of the previous episode and specifically cites some helpful phrases from Psalm 118 you can easily memorize and say at crucial moments. Language is one of the most powerful ways that our brain perceives and interprets what’s happening in our life circumstances. And so liturgies are memorable phrases we tell ourselves that help us interpret life. The more powerfully wo...

Language is one of the most powerful ways that our brain perceives and interprets what’s happening in our life circumstances. And so liturgies are memorable phrases we tell ourselves that help us interpret life. The more powerfully worded liturgies we say to ourselves shape our lives by telling us the story we are in. And God has given us powerful liturgies in the Scriptures that we can use to say...

The New Testament quotes Psalm 118:6-7 in a way that hits all of us where we feel it most. Fear and insecurity in uncertain circumstances. The key takeaway from these verses is to truly know and live like you know that God is always FOR you. Let’s talk about why in this episode. Psalm 118:6–7 ESV 6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? 7 The LORD is on my side as my helpe...

Psalm 118 was a liturgy in Jesus’s Day as part of the celebration of Passover. Written centuries beforehand, it foretells the story of that final Passover during which Jesus’s death and resurrection would change the word’s story forever. New Testament authors quoted Psalm 118 as the turning point in world history. But Psalm 118 goes beyond that. It summons you and me to enter this wonderful story...

Psalm 118 was a liturgy in Jesus’s Day as part of the celebration of Passover. Written centuries beforehand, it foretells the story of that final Passover during which Jesus’s death and resurrection would change the word’s story forever. New Testament authors quoted Psalm 118 as the turning point in world history. But Psalm 118 goes beyond that. It summons you and me to enter this wonderful story...

Psalm 118 was a liturgy in Jesus’s Day as part of the celebration of Passover. And because of that, the words on the lips of those praising Jesus as he entered Jerusalem the Sunday of Passover week fulfilled their own prophecy. You’ve heard these words many times every Palm Sunday. All four gospels record this event as Jesus literally entered the ancient story of Psalm 118. It’s pretty cool how Go...

There are 31,174 total verses in the Bible. Psalm 118:8-9 are the 15,587th and 15,588th verses. The very middle of the Bible. It’s probably just random chance, or maybe it’s God’s way of winking at us, but these two verses in the very middle of the entire Bible seem to capture well the bottom line to our fight of faith. Where the rubber-meets-the-road of whether or not we’ll live in God’s bigger s...

The New Testament tells us that “https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%204%3A4-6&version=NIV (the god of this age)” casts a kind of spell on our minds and hearts to keep us from seeing God’s glory. One way he does it is by constantly filling our lives with cultural distractions. An incessant stream of noise to keep us from being able to contemplate spiritual reality. This ep...

There are some good arguments non-Christians make as to why Christianity isn’t true. But Psalm 117 provides one of the many good reasons why I believe it is. Let’s discuss it in this episode. Psalm 117 ESV 1 Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! 2 For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD! Romans 15:5–7 NIV 5 May th...

In the Bible, repetition is always used for emphasis. And the most repeated phrase in Psalm 116 is “call upon the name of the LORD.” God’s people learn to call upon the name of the I AM as a lifestyle. That’s what makes them different. And that’s what this podcast is really all about. And to help you remember all that that means, you just need to remember the letters C.A.L.L. We do that in this ep...

What does Psalm 116 mean by “call upon the name of the LORD”? When we remember that God’s “name” is the ancient Hebrew verb for HE IS, then calling upon his name could include praying YOU ARE kinds of prayers of thanksgiving and praise to the I AM. We do that in this second episode on Psalm 116. Psalm 116 ESV 1 I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. 2 Because he inc...

The apostle Paul warns the ancient Corinthians that Satan is cunning and is always subtly working to lead our minds astray from our sincere devotion to Christ (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%2011%3A3&version=NIV (2 Cor 11:3)). It’s easy to think we’re doing fine because we believe true things and do good things, unaware that we’ve let our minds be led astray from our...

God wants you to thrive. To flourish. To “increase,” as Psalm 115:14 puts it. What would your life be if the I AM “who made heaven and earth,” and is the Source of all life and all existence, gives you his blessing (Psalm 115:15)? By lifting https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%201%3A18&version=NIV (the eyes of your heart )vertically to God’s glory, God’s blessing descends upon y...

You want to follow Jesus, so that means you want to pray more. But it’s hard to think of the right words to pray. Psalm 115 is one of the last Psalms on Jesus’s lips before he died. He prayed these words the night he was arrested and beaten. There is a spiritual power in these words that we can experience when we pray them too. Let’s do it together in this second of three episodes on Psalm 115. Ps...

You want to follow Jesus, so that means you want to pray more. But it’s hard to think of the right words to pray. Psalm 115 is one of the last Psalms on Jesus’s lips before he died. He prayed these words the night he was arrested and beaten. There is a spiritual power in these words that we can experience when we pray them too. Let’s start in this first of three episodes on Psalm 115. Psalm 115 ES...

For thousands of years, Jews have sung Psalms 113-118 at Passover. When Matthew tells us that Jesus sang a hymn with his disciples after the Passover meal the night he was arrested, he sang Psalm 113 (Matthew 26:30). And for good reason. This Psalm immediately ushers us into the glorious transcendent reality of God, while at the same time brings God intimately close. You need this Psalm! I need th...

Psalm 112 is a kind of part 2 of Psalm 111. In our last couple of episodes we saw how the works of God’s (Yahweh’s) creation and redemption/salvation are forever because God’s glory and majesty and radiance and splendor righteousness and mercy and compassion are forever shining on his people. Now Psalm 112 is a meditation on how that shines into God’s people in such a way that they in turn shine t...

In our last episode we looked at Psalm 111. But when I worship using the Psalms, I very often will spend several days in the same Psalm. Many Psalms have so much to offer and I find more each day that I spend reading and meditating and worshiping God in it. Our last episode looked at some helpful truths in this Psalm that give us confidence and security in our standing with God. But there are so m...

When I turn to Psalm 111 in my Bible, every verse is underlined. That’s because this psalm has often given me comfort, confidence, and security in my relationship with God. And the reason is because it helps me trust in his forever promise to me rather than in myself or my faith. Let me tell you about it as we draw near to God together through this psalm. Psalm 111 ESV 1 Praise the LORD! I will gi...

Why is Psalm 110 the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament, and yet perhaps one of the most unknown Psalms to Christians today? What have we missed? In our last episode we discussed v.1, a verse Jesus quotes and surprises everyone with an observation everyone missed for over a thousand years. In this episode, we talk about the amazing v. 4. Don’t miss it! Psalm 110:1–3 ESV A PSALM OF DAVID. 1 The...

Why is Psalm 110 the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament, and yet perhaps one of the most unknown Psalms to Christians today? What are we missing? We talk about the first half of this Psalm in this episode. Psalm 110:1–3 ESV A PSALM OF DAVID. 1 The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” 2 The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule i...

There will be times in your life when others are speaking bad about you. Sometimes it’s not that big of a deal and you can move on. But other times it can be super painful and even highly damaging to your reputation. As a follower of Jesus, how should you handle that? That’s the subject and prayer of this episode. Psalm 109 ESV A PSALM OF DAVID. 1 Be not silent, O God of my praise! 2 For wicked an...

You’re reading or praying through the Psalms and you come across one where David prays for terrible things to happen to his enemies. For God to bring disaster upon enemies. And you can’t help but think how unChristian this is! “I can’t pray for this!” you think to yourself, “Aren’t we supposed to https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205%3A44&version=NIV (pray FOR our enemies) and h...

In https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2013%3A13&version=NIV (1 Corinthians 13:13), the apostle Paul tells us that a life filled with God’s Spirit will be more and more characterized by three things: faith, hope, and love. You can’t really live the Christian life without them. Those three are always intertwined, making it impossible to have one without also having the othe...

Your faith is not just a set of beliefs. Your faith always has an emotional element to it. An emotional view of God’s promises that affects you in some way. It’s an emotional response that the Bible refers to as “hope.” A hope that looks up and looks forward in all your horizontal circumstances. Understanding the Bible’s reasons for hope will enable your emotions to become more and more driven by...